The Fiat 500->ke1708 has tons of history, as does the Abarth line. One of the most famous of the Abarths debut at the Geneva Auto Show all the way back in 1964. This 695 had a 699.5 cc engine with a "whopping" 30 horsepower and could hit a top speed of 130 km/h (36 mph). Well, now 50 years later, Fiat is revealing a new Abarth 695, which it dubbed the biposto, with just a tad more power and a much higher top speed.

The 695 biposto checks in with a healthy 30-horsepower bump over the standard Fiat 500 Abarth and uses the same 1.4-liter engine. It also features an insane dog box transmission that is rarely seen in anything other than race cars, and even those are hard to come by.

On top of the racing transmission, the Abarth 695 drops loads of weight, gets a stripped-down interior and a half roll cage.

On the surface, the 695 biposto look like a massive heap of awesomeness on the surface, but is it still as awesome when I drill down into all of the details?

Click past the jump to read more and find out.

Exterior

This Fiat 500 may look like the typical 500 from afar, but up close you will realize that it is anything but typical. Giving the Abarth 695 biposto a lower and wider appearance is a body kit that includes new bumpers, side skirts, wheel arches, a spoiler, and a double-bump hood made of aluminum that draws inspiration from the 124 Abarth. This kit takes the Typical Abarth and really kicks it up that extra notch to match the insane performance numbers of this new model.

Rounding out the aesthetic enhancements that make the Abarth 695 so bad-ass is the textured Performance Grey paint draped over the body work, and the titanium-finished hood trim, door handles, tailgate handle, wheel bolts, hub caps, coolant cap, oil cap and fuel cap.

Abarth didn't stop with just throwing the 500 in a new suit. Oh no, there are some serious weight-saving changes at work here too. Starting things off are carbon-fiber mirror and post covers, which save a little weight and add a sportier look. The front windows are fixed and made of polycarbonate sliding panels to help shave the weight of power windows and glass.

Finally, a set of lightweight, 18-inch OZ rims help keep the curb weight and unsprung weight to a minimum.

All of this weight loss helps drop the Abarth's curb weight to just 997 kg (2,198 pounds). That's a huge diet when compared to the 500 Abarth's 2,512-pound curb weight.

Original Abarth 695

Interior

Now if you thought the exterior of the Abarth 695 biposto looked race-ready, prepare to be blown away by the interior.

Rear seats, what rear seats? The Abarth 695 biposto has no need for back seats, so in went a partial roll cage and an anti-intrusion net to prevent stuff from flying everywhere in case of an accident. The remaining seats have a carbon-fiber shell, and are wrapped up in Alcantara and titanium-colored leather. The steering wheel gets the same treatment as the seats.

In terms of features inside the cabin, forget about it. Gone are all of the basic creature comforts, like climate control, an audio system and power windows.

Drivetrain

Under the hood is where most of the improvements over the base Abarth take place, as Fiat pushed the Abarth 695 biposto's 1.4-liter T-Jet engine to a bonkers 190 horsepower -- a 30-horsepower jump over the base Abarth -- and 250 Nm (184 pound-feet) of torque. Some of the changes to achieve this power include a new intercooler with race-inspired plumbing, a dynamic air intake with carbon-fiber case, revised air filters and an Akrapovic dual-stage exhaust system, which opens wide by pressing the "Sport" button on the dashboard.

This petite powerhouse hooks up to a five-speed manual gearbox that includes dog rings for faster shifts without risking damage to the synchros of a traditional manual. With this "Dog Box" transmission, you will run into a few issues, including lots and lots of noise and neck-breaking shifts if you are not perfect on the switch.

And what does this all mean to you? Well, a 0-to-100 km/h (62 mph) time of just 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 230 km/h (143 mph).

Suspension

On the corners of the Fiat 695 biposto are 215/35R18 tires wrapped around those lightweight OZ. Sitting behind the wheels and tires are race-inspired Brembo brakes with vented and perforated discs measuring 305-by-28 mm with four-piston calipers.

The suspension system consists of height-adjustable shock absorbers from Extreme Shox, who provides the shocks for F1, Le Mans and WTCC.

Competitors

2014 Opel Astra OPC Extreme

The Astra OPC Extreme may not have any production future, but it is under consideration at this time. With 300 horsepower under its hood. Yeah, it is more powerful than the Fiat, but it is also heavier and likely sprints to 60 mph in around the same range as the Fiat.

Conclusion

On a whole, the Abarth 695 is bad-ass, but the thing is that it will never make its way to the U.S. It'll also be really, really expensive and not at all sensible for anyone with a family or with plans to haul any luggage.